My Watermark is the North Saskatchewan River, Alberta.

I'm from Sydney, Australia. I wanted to work and live in another country and Canada was a perfect fit in terms of our visa, language, and culture. This is the first summer that I've spent here in Edmonton. This climate and weather is something I can definitely relate to from being back home. Being outdoors, anything to do with the water, is something which I'm used to growing up as a kid. Being able to experience the river here is fantastic.

I've been living in Edmonton for just over 6 months now. This was the first time today that I actually got on the river and got to paddle down a large extent of it. Being able to actually experience it and see how it flows through the city is really cool. It's great to see so many people out on the river, whether it be on the boats, kayaks, canoes like we were; also just taking their dogs for walks along the river bank, young kids playing in the water having a good time, as well as just seeing people riding bike and walking. It's a really active community and using the river as a source of that is really cool to see.

Something which I noticed straight away, and which was really impressive, was how clear and healthy the river looked. There was no pollution evident at all. I think it's extremely important for people now and in future generations to preserve that so we can continue to enjoy this river for years to come.